Dancing with the Stars 21
The twenty-first season of Dancing with the Stars premiered 14 September 2015. Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews returned as hosts. Carrie Ann Inaba, Julianne Hough and Bruno Tonioli returned as judges. After twenty seasons as a judge, Len Goodman did not return this season. On 24 November 2015, wildlife conservationist Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough were announced as the winners. singer Nick Carter and Sharna Burgess placed second, and soldier Alek Skarlatos and Lindsay Arnold placed third. Development Nine professional dancers were revealed during Good Morning America 19 August 2015. Karina Smirnoff, who did not appear in Season 20 returned for Season 21. Anna Trebunskaya and Louis van Amstel returned after a five-season hiatus. Additionally, Lindsay Arnold returned after spending the last four seasons in the troupe. While Peta Murgatroyd (who was to be paired with Andy Grammer) was originally announced as a professional, but sidelined for the season by an ankle injury; she was replaced by Allison Holker. Artem Chigvintsev and Kym Johnson also did not return. Bindi Irwin was the first celebrity revealed 24 August on GMA; other celebrities were revealed at different dates through different media. The full cast of celebrities and professional dancers was revealed 2 September 2015, on GMA. During the show, two celebrities (Kim Zolciak-Biermann and Tamar Braxton) withdrew during the competition, marking the first time two contestants withdrew in midseason. Couples Scoring Chart Average Score Chart Highest- and Lowest-Scoring Performances Couples' Highest and Lowest-Scoring Dances Weekly Scores Unless indicated otherwise, individual judges scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Julianne Hough and Bruno Tonioli. Week 1 * The couples performed Cha-Cha-Cha, Foxtrot, Salsa, Quickstep or Jive. Week 2: Hometown Glory Week * Couples had to prepare two new dances to be performed on two consecutive nights. On Monday, the couples performed routines that celebrated the hometowns of the celebrities, with one couple being eliminated at the end of the show. * On Tuesday, the remaining couples performed routines that celebrated the hometowns of the pro partners, with another couple being eliminated. * Charleston, Contemporary, Jazz, Rumba, Tango and Waltz are introduced. Night 1 Night 2 Week 3: TV Week Individual judges scores in the chart below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, 'Alfonso Ribeiro, Julianne Hough, Bruno Tonioli.'' * Couples performed one unlearned dance to famous TV theme songs. * Samba and Viennese Waltz are introduced. * As a result of a mini-stroke, Kim Zolciak-Biermann was unable to attend the live show and Tony performed their Samba with Jenna Johnson. It was later announced that Kim would have to withdraw from the competition, as stated by the rules of the show. In light of the situation, no couple was eliminated. Week 4: Most Memorable Year * Couples performed one unlearned dance to celebrate the most memorable year of their lives. * Season 19 champion Alfonso Ribeiro hosted in place of Tom Bergeron, who was taking time of to be with his ailing father. This marks Bergeron's first absence in the history of the show. * Allison Holker announced her pregnancy. She continued to dance with Andy Grammer. Week 5: The Switch-Up ''Individual judges scores in the chart below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, '''Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Julianne Hough, Bruno Tonioli.'' * Former pro and season 18 champion Maksim Chmerkovskiy served as guest judge this week. * This week the celebrities dance with another pro than usual. * Due to the nature of this week, no couple was eliminated. Week 6: Famous Dances Night Individual judges scores in the chart below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, 'Olivia Newton-John, Julianne Hough, Bruno Tonioli.'' * Four-time Grammy award winner Olivia Newton-John served as guest judge this week. * Former contestant Leah Remini hosted in place of Erin Andrews due to Andrews' commitment with Fox to cover the 2015 World Series. * The couples performed dances inspired by iconic dances from movies and music videos. Week 7: Halloween Night * For Halloween Night, the couples performed one previously unlearned dance and team dances to Halloween themes and songs * Leah Remini once again filled in for Erin Andrews Week 8: Icons Night * Couples performed one unlearned dance that paid tribute to a personal icon of the celebrity's; the couple with the highest score earned an immunity from elimination, while the rest of the couples participated in dance-offs for extra points. '''Dance offs * For each dance-off, the couple with the highest remaining score picked the opponent against whom they wanted to dance; the chosen opponent was allowed to pick the dance style. The winner of each dance-off earned two points. The couple who won immunity received a three-point bonus. For the first time, the general public helped to determine the winner of each dance-off using Twitter. Week 9: Showstoppers Night * Couples performed one unlearned dance and a musical theater-inspired team-up dance with another couple, which involved the celebrities dancing side-by-side to the same song and receiving the same set of scores from the judges for the routine. * During dress rehearsals, Tamar Braxton fell ill and was taken to the emergency room. She was unable to return for her contemporary dance; the judges' scores were based on their dress rehearsal footage. Braxton did return for her team-up dance with Nick & Sharna. However, the next day she withdrew from the competition after discovering pulmonary embolisms in her lungs. Week 10: Semifinals * Couples performed one unlearned dance and a trio dance involving an eliminated pro or a pro from past seasons of the show * Midway through the show, the four couples participated in dance-offs, with the winners receiving three points to be added to their total scores. * Due to the unexpected withdrawal of Tamar Braxton the previous week, all four couples advanced directly to the finals. Dance-offs Week 11: Finals Night 1 Night 2 * Repeat dance and 24 Hour Fusion Challenge * Had they made it to night 2, Carlos and Witney would have danced a Salsa and a Quickstep/Jive fusion. Musical Guests Trivia * Karina Smirnoff returned after being absent last season. * Andy Grammer was originally supposed to dance with Peta Murgatroyd, but she had to withdraw, prior to the competition, due to an ankle injury that needed surgery. Instead, he was partnered with Allison Holker. * Kim Zolciak-Biermann was forced to withdraw from the competition in Week 3, due to a mini-stroke. * This season featured, for the first time ever, a week without Tom Bergeron as a host. He went to be with his father who was very ill. ** Raymond Bergeron subsequently died 12 October 2015. * During the live show in Week 4, pro dancer Allison Holker announced that she was expecting her second child. * This marks the first time that Derek Hough has ever been on the losing team in a team dance. * On 2 November 2015, Nick Carter confirmed that he and his wife were expecting their first child, after trying to get pregnant for over a year. ** They found out on the live show, that they were expecting a baby boy. * Tamar Braxton withdrew from the competition after discovering pulmonary embolisms in her lungs, making this the first season in the show's history to feature more than one celebrity withdrawal. * Bindi Irwin shares the title of youngest celebrity winner with Shawn Johnson, who was also seventeen at the time of her win. * Irwin also set a record with eight perfect scores in a season, surpassing the record of six held by Jennifer Grey, Meryl Davis, and Rumer Willis. * This marks the sixth win for Derek Hough, the most wins of any professional dancer. * Keo Motsepe wasn't just the first professional partner eliminated, he was the only professional partner eliminated that did not participate before Season 5 before all the professional partners that ever did. * The scores that are 21 or higher and the scores that are 20 or less are separated. (only couples that were eliminated before the team dance got 20 or less, and only couples that were part of a team dance got 21 or more.) ** Every couple that received a 21 or higher received a perfect score. (Hayes received a perfect score in his team dance.) Gallery Chaka-Keo-Promo21.jpg|13th place: Chaka & Keo Victor-Karina-Promo21.jpg|12th place: Victor & Karina Kim-Tony-Promo21.jpg|11th place: Kim & Tony Gary-Anna-Promo21.jpg|10th place: Gary & Anna Paula-Louis-Promo21.jpg|9th place: Paula & Louis Hayes-Emma-Promo21.jpg|8th place: Hayes & Emma Andy-Allison-Promo21.jpg|7th place: Andy & Allison Alexa-Mark-Promo21.jpg|6th place: Alexa & Mark Tamar-Val-Promo21.jpg|5th place: Tamar & Val Carlos-Witney-Promo21.jpg|4th place: Carlos & Witney Alek-Lindsay-Promo21.jpg|3rd place: Alek & Lindsay Nick-Sharna-Promo21.jpg|2nd place: Nick & Sharna Bindi-Derek-Promo21.jpg|Winner: Bindi & Derek Category:Seasons